Rise of AI-fuelled SATANISM: Priests, imams and rabbis are invited to attend an exorcism course in Rome amid fears devil worshippers are using artificial intelligence

Back in the 1980s, priests fretted that Satanists were corrupting the world through everything from rock records to Dungeons and Dragons.

But according to the organisers of an exorcism course, in 2026, the devil has adopted far more modern methods.

Priests, imams, and rabbis have been invited to attend a special training programme in Rome to fight what they see as an alarming rise in AI–fuelled satanism. 

Father Luis Ramirez Almanza, a Mexican priest who runs the annual course, warns that devil worshippers are using AI to communicate, hide themselves online, and create materials for their dark rituals. 

In particular, there are mounting fears among exorcists that Satanists are using AI to generate images of children involved in satanic rites.

Rapidly advancing 'deepfake' tools have enabled online paedophiles to generate enormous quantities of child sexual abuse material, some of which is allegedly used for satanic purposes.  

Father Almanza told The Times: 'Artificial intelligence is a great power.

'A force for both good and evil — and can therefore be used for devil worshipping.'

Father Almanza delivered this stark warning at a press conference to announce the 'Course on the Ministry of Exorcism and Prayer of Deliverance' at the Vatican–affiliated university Ateneo Pontificio Regina Apostolorum.

The course will draw 170 participants from all religious backgrounds, including official Catholic exorcists, imams, rabbis, and Evangelical preachers. 

The course does not give participants a licence to conduct exorcisms since, under Catholic Canon Law, this can only be authorised by a diocesan bishop.

However, the university's website claims that the course will offer 'a solid foundation of theological, canonical, medical, and psychological knowledge for those who work or wish to collaborate in discernment and liberation ministry.'

However, this year Father Almanza says that there will be a special focus on the supposed role of AI in occult and satanic practices.

One of the speakers at the event was Father Fortunato Di Noto, a Sicilian priest who founded the Meter Association, a group which combats child sexual abuse.

Father Di Noto now believes that some unspecified satanic groups combine devil worship and paedophilia through the use of AI.  

He said: 'We believe these groups are using AI to generate images of children involved in satanic rites.

'Using children appeals to them because it's a form of power being exercised over the innocent.'

This comes amid a significant increase in the use of AI to generate child sexual abuse material online.

The Meter Association's most recent report identified 8,213 children whose images had been sexualised using AI.

These images are most frequently circulated on encrypted platforms like Signal, however, last year, Elon Musk's refusal to regulate the Grok AI led to an explosion of child sexual abuse material on the public internet.

The Meter Association identified 1,121 fake nude images of children produced by Grok, accounting for 14 per cent of the total. 

Likewise, analysis conducted by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) found that online paedophiles generated 3,440 child abuse videos using AI in 2025 – a 26,362 per cent increase from 2024.

However, there is as yet no confirmed evidence that any of this material was created for explicitly 'satanic' contexts or for use in ritual practice.

Another speaker at the conference was Beatrice Ugolini, an academic who studies the history of magic.

During the course, she will discuss how Italy's estimated 263 occult groups are using AI to generate the symbols used in their rites.

David Murgia, president of the Gruppo di Ricerca e Informazione Socio–religiosa (GRIS), which tracks cult activity in Italy, says: 'Police tell us satanists are using AI to hide their content online and communicate with each other.'

It is, however, worth noting that although there is limited evidence for the existence of murderous satanic groups in Italy, attempted exorcisms have led directly to several deaths.

For example, in 2024, Giovanni Barreca, 54, was convicted of killing his wife and two sons during an attempted 'exorcism rite'.

Mr Barreca told police he tortured and killed his family, with the help of two accomplices, because he thought they were possessed by demons.

This latest exorcism course on the dangers of AI comes as the Vatican itself has taken a more cautious position on the new technology.

Following his election last year, Pope Leo warned that AI risked robbing people of their jobs, privacy, and dignity.

The American pontiff cautioned Catholics about the 'extremely rich people who are investing in artificial intelligence, totally ignoring the value of human beings and of humanity'.